The typical Missouri student is counting down the days until Thanksgiving break, when they can go home and take a week off.
The Missouri Club Golf team is counting down to the weekend of Nov. 19 for another reason. They will participate in the National Collegiate Club Golf Association National Championship at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
The Tigers claimed their spot in this year’s Club National Championship when they won the NCCGA Central Region by 21 strokes. Mizzou shot a team score of 746, which tied the national record. Washington University posted a score of 767, and Saint Louis University rounded out the top three with a score of 769.
Junior Nick Sobba won the Central Region with a career best score at 7-under.
“This semester has been good,” Sobba said. “But after taking a top 10 last year at Nationals, I don’t think we can call it successful unless we come back from Orlando with a title.”
In the spring NCCGA Championship last year in West Virginia, the Tigers finished tied for ninth. With a summer of preparation, they look to finish better this time around.
“As a team, we did better than we would have thought,” senior Jon Rennard said. “For myself, I didn’t play as well as I would have liked. However, from that poor play came this season of me practicing a lot more.”
Sobba has taken the approach that the more rounds of golf he plays, the better he will become. Over the summer, he played in several tournaments in Kansas City and joined the Columbia Country Club, so he could practice anytime during the week.
“Playing tournament golf is way different than going out and playing with friends on the weekend,” Sobba said. “Every shot means a lot more, so you have to focus.”
The team may have qualified for the Championship, but the team is still finalizing its roster. Four of the spots on Mizzou’s roster have yet to be decided, and 12 golfers are still in play to make the trip to Orlando.
The Tigers have had plenty of strength at the top, so depth will be a key to a good finish in Orlando. At the first round of the Central Region, the Tigers had the top three finishers including the win by senior Mark Stahlhuth. They then followed that up with five in the top 10 at the second round of the Central Region including Sobba’s win.
This team has a lot of talent and plenty of accolades. Sobba and Stahlhuth both won a region tournament this year, and Miles Buska and Austin Piephoff, who were on Mizzou’s B team, finished fourth and fifth overall at the second Central Region tournament. Sophomore Dillon Eaton also made it to the sectionals of the U.S. Open this year.
“The 12 guys that are competing all have the potential to play really well,” Rennard said. “The potential to go low gives us a very good chance to play well. We have put up some really low scores as a team this semester, and we hope to keep them going for nationals.”
_Edited by George Roberson | groberson@themaneater.com_
